The Seasons Change and Here is your Assigment

Today is the last day of September.  Tomorrow ushers in the month that every little town in American sets aside for some sort of festival.  Dallas hosts the State Fair of Texas.  In fact, they've already started.  Our town of Winnsboro devotes the entire month to the Autumn Trails and has something going on every weekend in October.  In Gilmer, Texas they have the Yamboree to celebrate that great cousin to the sweet potato.  Yes, folks, a festival for the yam.  And they cancel school for this.  Not just one day, either--the kids get two and a half days off.

I digress.

The seasons are changing.  What comes after fall?  Yes, Christmas.  And that is why I have called us all together today. I have two things you can do to keep yourself and your family from going off the deep end and going totally berserk to the point where you will want to wear bags over your heads to hide yourselves out of embarrassment or need name tags at the next family gathering because you might not recognize each other.

Christmas does something to us.  It turns the most well-meaning people into someone we never intended to be.

Do these two things and I promise it will help:

1.  Read this book.  (Yes, you will probably have to buy it.  I promise it will be money sell-spent.)  The Year Without a Purchase.  It was written by Scott Dannemiller, my buddy from Guatemala. Read it before Christmas.  Do it.  You won't be sorry.

2.  Watch the Veggietales show, Madame Blueberry.  I watch it every year for Thanksgiving.  If you have small people, gather them around to watch it with you.  If not, do it anyway.  It has cute music.  Then read Exodus 16.  This time don't focus on the part where God gave them what they needed, pay attention to what happened when they had more than they needed.  God is sneaky.

I am giving you plenty of time to accomplish these things before Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Do it.  Just do it.  It will change your life.